The concept of alienation is one of the classics of sociological theory, proposed by Marx and developed by scholars such as Seeman and Dean. Social quality is a new concept to measure a ‘good society’instead of GDP, which includes four indicators (socio-economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion and social empowerment). Drawing on data from the Shanghai Survey in 2010, the article examines the social quality factors’ and hukou differences in levels of social alienation in Shanghai society. We first describe the distribution of social alienation in shanghai. In a second step, we scrutinize how the four factors of social quality determine levels of social alienation. Third, we look at the hukou specific levels of alienation, and then we investigate whether the differences in alienation between the hukou are related to the existing social quality factors. This study has shown that feelings of social isolation, normlessness, meaninglessness, self-estrangement and powerlessness, in short alienation tendencies, are widespread in Shanghai. This result points into Durkheim’s well established and documented assumption that rapid societal change is accompanied by alienation tendencies. As seen from data, social alienation in Shanghai is determined by socio-economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion and other structural factors. The hukou is an important structural factor, which also empirically confirms Merton’s thesis that it is relative deprivation and the related inability of some groups to live up to common societal goals that explain social alienation.
